Monday, February 20, 2006

David Irving - Last Sane Insane Man in Europe

You know, the idea that what you believe can lead to serious prison time or other punishment is a barbaric idea, with no place in Modern Western Civilization. It's something more to be expected in the Medieval thinking of the Middle East where there are many people calling for the death of a number of cartoonists who wrote something that caused outrage and rioting. Mind you there is never any rioting and moral outrage when people are kidnapped, tortured and murdered in the name of the person whose visage must not be pictured but that's another rant for another day. No indeed, not in modern Europe where freedom of expression, free speech and even the thoughts in your head are free from the heavy hand of the government. But no, that idea is just a fantasy which has no place in the People's Republic of Austria, well on it's way to reinstituting the policies and overall style of the Third Reich. Yes, the Fourth Reich is well on it's way in spirit if not in deed. In Austria you have a country where a crackpot historian from Britian, a one David Irving, has just been tried and convicted of the shocking crime of 'Holocaust denier' which I'm sorry to say isn't quite a capital offense yet but you know, if they just incorporate their spiritual brother in thought - shiaria law, they'll be able to make thoughtcrime a capital offense too like it is in Shiaria law. Then they can line up all the cartoonists and authors they don't like and shoot them all at once and be done with it. But of course, where there is thoughtcrime there is no being done with it. There are always dangerous thoughts that must be stamped out.

The article states that "One hundred and fifty-eight people have been convicted of Holocaust denial in Austria between 1999 and 2004." They must be proud in Austria for this. A fellow named Lord Janner of Braunstone - there's no telling if his first name is really 'Lord' or if he has some actual real name but one thing is for sure, the pompous ass is from Braunstone. He says that "We must learn the lessons of the past to build a decent society for the future." which is an awesomely clueless thing to say for someone who claps and cheers over idiots being put in jail for what they think. The thing is, when you decide to start putting people in jail for what they thing and write you've lost freedom of speech. Sure, it seems okay since the speech and thought you are punishing is stuff that you don't like. Isn't that worth a bit of loss of freedom? Well you know, what'll it be next time. They've already started down the slippery slope and the next thought crime might be something you think or say or write. Someone who denies that the holocaust happened is guilty of stupidity and a lack of education at best and is some sort of Nazi advocate. By elevating it you've created an illustration of your own fear and validated the idea that those thoughts are somehow dangerous. It's really pathetic and reflects badly on Austria.